DNA caught up Hemant Karkare after he assumed charge as the new chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad. Excerpts from an interview:
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) is set to grow in size and scope as the state government is keen on sanctioning more funds and ratifying new posts said its new boss Hemant Karkare Monday.
As an officer earlier posted with the Research and Analysis Wing, Karkare told DNA that close to Rs2 crore has already been allotted by the government for setting up the separate ATS building at Byculla. The ATS unit is currently housed inside the south additional commissioner of police’s office at Nagpada.
Also, ATS will soon add 92 new officers to its existing fleet as part of a larger plan to augment manpower. More funds imply better systemic facilities for the ATS as well according to Karkare. The elite terror unit began with 25 personnel in 2004 and is presently 300-member strong.
Following the commuter trains bombings the state government had in 2006 okayed separate ATS units at Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Aurangabad.
“Terrorist intentions are best neutralised at the first-responder level which is the policeman on the streets. And in a city of Mumbai’s size and proportions we need to have more people at our disposal geared toward gathering effective intelligence,” said Karkare.
The new boss said creation of more focussed groups will help infiltrate communities and boost efforts to have members of the ‘target community’ (winning the hearts and minds war) on our side. The focussed groups will be operationally differ from the already existing mohallah committees.
“A synergistic strategy lie at the heart of frustrating terrorist motives and ambitions and the government is considering that response to any terrorist threat is resourced in terms of policing,” Karkare added.
The new boss was perhaps hinting at effective co-ordination with the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) and the state-level special units which work in tandem to minimise chances of terrorist onslaughts.
“A more mutually beneficial system of information exchange and acting on them aids us in understanding operational strategies of terrorist groups,” he said.
Karkare’s tenure comes at a critical time when Mumbai and some other bigger cities across Maharashtra are believed to be figuring high on the target list of radical jihadist groups - like Lashkar-e-Tayyaba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and HuJI.
d_anupam@dnaindia.net
